Bursting, Separating and/or Die Cutting Apparatus for Continuous Forms

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to means for automatically, continuously bursting and separating individual items at relatively high speed from a continuous series of items, such for example, as manifolded document forms or cutting from manifolded perforated items to provide clean cut forms. In one embodiment the invention employs oppositely disposed, substantially rigid, yet deformable members disposed in confronting arrangement in the path of the items to be separated. The deformable members are of differing resiliencies with the upper member being slightly more resilient than the lower member and the lower member including a longitudinally extending discontinuity or channel. The two members are movable relative to one another with the items disposed therebetween so as to cause the resilient portion of the upper member to distend slightly into the discontinuity in the lower member stretching the items tautly between the confronting surfaces of the deformable members causing the leading item to be burst apart and separate from the adjacent trailing items. In a second embodiment of the invention the upper member is provided with a cutting or severing element receivable in a cavity in the lower member such that items disposed therebetween have a portion of the area adjacent to the perforations removed therefrom as the items are fed therebetween at high speed. Means adjacent to the deformable members and in the pathway of the items cause the burst item to be rapidly discharged out of the path of the advancing items and into a stacking pocket or hopper or onto a shingling table.

United States Patent Van Bennekom [451 Feb. 4, 1975 BURSTING, SEPARATINGAND/OR DIE CUTTING APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS FORMS [75] Inventor: HansLochmann Van Bennekom,

Rochester, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Burroughs Corporation, Detroit,

Mich.

[22] Filed: May 2, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 356,515

[52] US. Cl 225/93, 225/101, 225/105 [51] Int. Cl B26f 3/02, B65h 35/10[58] Field of Search 225/100, 101, 106, 93,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,794,228 2/1974 Calwill225/105 X Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Assistant Examiner-LeonGilden Attorney, Agent, or FirmPaul W. Fish; Edward G. F iorito; CarlFissell, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT The present invention relates to means for automatically,continuously bursting and separating individual items at relatively highspeed from a continuous series of items, such for example, as manifoldeddocument forms or cutting from manifolded perforated items to provideclean cut forms. In one embodiment the invention employs oppositelydisposed, substantially rigid, yet deformable members disposed inconfronting arrangement in the path of the items to be separated. Thedeformable members are of differing resiliencies with the upper memberbeing slightly more resilient than the lower member and the lower memberincluding a longitudinally extending discontinuity or channel. The twomembers are movable relative to one another with the items disposedtherebetween so as to cause the resilient portion of the upper member todistend slightly into the discontinuity in the lower member stretchingthe items tautly between the confronting surfaces of the deformablemembers causing the leading item to be burst apart and separate from theadjacent trailing items.

In a second embodiment of the invention the upper member is providedwith a cutting or severing element receivable in a cavity in the lowermember such that items disposed therebetween have a portion of the areaadjacent. to the perforations removed therefrom as the items are fedtherebetween at high speed. Means adjacent to the deformable members andin the pathway of the items cause the burst item to be rapidlydischarged out of the path of the advancing items and into a stackingpocket or hopper or onto a shingling table.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 BURSTING, SEPARATING AND/OR DIE CUTTINGAPPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS FORMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION to provide amore efficient and rapid method and means for handling individualprinted items, utilize socalled continuous forms. The continuous form isvariously defined but, for eample, may be a series of items which areseparated by lines of weakening, such as perforations; and generally theforms are provided with advancing and guiding means usually in the formof parallel rows of sprocket holes engagagable with the verticallyprojecting pins of a pin feed tractor, for example.

Such items may also be produced in a continuous, nonperforated form;fan-folded back and forth; or may be rolled items or sheets. Such itemsare then divided into individual item sheets or documents by means of acutter penetrator mechanism.

Usually, and for the most part, the known bursting devices employ pairsof rollers operable in surface contact and disposed in the pathway tothe advancing items. Such rollers are generally arranged in separatedsets or pairs in such manner that the speed differential between thesets or pairs and the fact that the item is gripped between one pair orset causes the items to become stretched therebetween. A stress raisingelement, e.g. breaker bar, is projected into the weakened area of theitem, causing the individual item to be stripped or burst apart from thecontinuous series of forms.

While all such bursting devices operate reasonably satisfactorily, thereis a noticeable high degree of noise involved. Also, accuracy of controlof separation may be relatively difficult to obtain and maintain becauseof the lack of positive and precise contact engagement of the rollerswith the document to be burst. All such devices are characteristicallyweighty, suffer from noticeably high inertia problems due to the largemoving masses and the speeds involved. Additionally, such apparatusrequires supervision and interplay between operator and machine if theform size varies since in many cases the position of or distance betweenthe bursting rollers must be altered to accommodate the change in theform size or length.

Many prior art bursting devices suffer from one or more of the followingproblems in varying degrees of severity; bending, wrinkling or spindlingof the items due mainly to the items entering the bight of the burstingrollers in the wrong manner; irregular bursting or ripping of the itemsin an area other than along the preweakened perforations; puncture typedamage due in large measure to the type of penetrator employed; blurringof carbon image on multiply items due to excessive pressure build-upbetween snap or bursting rollers.

Many prior art burster constructions require some sort of cutter bar,blade, wheel, roller or other severing mechanism in addition to the holdand feed rollers in order to separate or burst the forms or items apart.Such equipment is costly to tool up and maintain, is

noisy, and must be renewed at periodic intervals due to wear andlubrication requirements.

Such prior art bursters as are generally available must be able toaccommodate many size document lengths and widths necessitating operatorintervention to change rollers, belts or pulleys, etc. Also, because allsuch known devices utilize sets or pairs of rollers operating atdifferent relative speeds to hold and burst the forms apart, theapparatus tends to become excessively large or long or both and thusrequires an undue amount of space which oftentimes cannot beconveniently accommodated in modern offices, laboratories, etc.

The present invention contemplates, but is obviously not limited to, theuse of documents varying in length from 2 5/6 to 24 inches and in widthbetween 6 and 20 inches. The paper or item thickness can vary fromsingle ply item onion skin or thinner paper to as many as eight or moreply multipart forms.

So as to enable the present invention to be utilized with other anddifferent cooperating devices such as check or item signers, checkprotectors, decollators, stackers, slitters, etc., the apparatus isconstructed in a modular format. The main operational elements of thecombination are demountably housed within and operably associated with abase supporting structure enabling efficient, quick, and easymaintenance and avoiding the requirement for highly skilled on-siteoperator service personnel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes thedifficulties of the-prior art and provides a neater, cleaner, quieter,smaller and much more efficiently operating burstingseparating cuttingand/or severing apparatus by utilizing a novel and heretofore unknowncombination of elements which enable the apparatus to accommodate itselfto varying sizes and plies or thicknesses of documents without the needfor operator intervention to change or alter the arrangement of thebasic bursting mechanism itself.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided upper fixed andlower movable deformable members. These members are constructed so as toprovide opposite, confronting, facing surfaces and are arranged tostraddle a web of continuous item forms, e.g. checks, which may be fedlongitudinally through the apparatus from a supply bin or roll, etc.

The two members are adapted to be brought into surface contact with theweb therebetween and (by means of suitable timing devices) into contactwith the line of weakening, e.g. perforations, approximately centrallylocated relative to the transverse dimension of the two deformablemembers. As the two members contact the web, they grip the continuousform item or item stack, as the case may be, tightly therebetween.Continued movement of the two members towards each other causes theupper softer more resilient deformable member to be deflected into acavity in the lower less resilient deformable member so that theadjacent items are stretched apart at the line of weakening, effectivelybursting the leading item from the next or trailing item. Thereafter theburst item or items are moved at high speed out of the bursting areaonto a shingling table or into a stacking hopper as desired.

In another embodiment of the invention the upper and lower deformablemembers are first caused to move toward one another so as to grip theitem or items therebetween after which, as the items are tautly held atthe line of weakening, a cutting or severing assembly is caused to beprojected into engagement with the items at the line of weakening, andthen is driven on into the cavity in the lower member severing atransverse piece of material from the leading and trailing items.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention, both as to itsorganization and method of operation, together with other and furtheradvantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an idealized side elevational view of a burster apparatusembodying the present invention illustrating the general arrangement ofthe item pathway from supply bin to burst item receptacle;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged side elevational view partially in sectionof the burster hold foot of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the bursting alignmentof FIG. 2 at the moment of bursting;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view partially in section of a modificationof the invention to provide a clean edge cut of continuous forms;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view partially in section of the apparatus ofFIG. 4 illustrating the device at the moment the item is cut and,

FIG. 6 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 5 illustrating the device inits retracted condition with the burst item now cut;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional views of a modification of the invention ofFIGS. 4 6 inclusive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring first to FIG. 1 of thedrawings, there is shown an idealized assembly view of a high speedcontinuous form item bursting apparatus 10. The burster 10 may be partof a modularized signer-protectorburster apparatus such as thatdescribed and claimed in copending U.S. Pat. Application U.S. Ser. No.210,737 filed Dec. 22, 1971, in the names of Richard H. Colwill et al,and titled BURSTING AND SEPARATING AP- PARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS FORMS nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,794,228 assigned to the same assignee as the presentinvention. The bursting mechanism 12, hereinafter described in detail,is disposed centrally of the main machine assembly 10, as shown. An itemmoving device such as a pin feed tractor mechanism 14 is driven byelectric motor 16 through a belt 18 and pin wheel pulleys 20. Conicallyshaped pins 22 are engagable with line holes or perforations 24, FIGS. 5and 6, located on opposite parallel edges of continuous item forms 26.

The item forms 26 are generally, although not necessarily, manifolded asshown at 28, FIG. 1, and may be fed vertically upwardly from the supplybin 30 by the pins of the feed tractor 14.

The continuous forms 26 are adapted to be fed slantingly, vertically,upwardly over smoothing and retarding means such as the arcuately curvedguiding member 32 under a smoothing brush assembly 34 into the feed area36. Individual pin feed tractors 14 are arranged on opposite sides ofthe apparatus. Each edge tractor is adapted for horizontal, slidablemovement toward and away from the other tractor along a helicallythreaded member (not shown) permitting the tractors 14 to beoperator-adjusted for varying documents or item width.

The continuous form 26 is fed by the tractors 14 into the burstingmechanism 12, to be described in detail shortly, and there beyond intothe bight of upper and lower ejection rollers 38 and 40, respectively.Rollers 38, having resilient peripheral portions, are spring biased soto be engagable with the continuously rotating surface of transverseroller 40. The individually burst item hereinafter identified as 42,once separated from the continuous item forms 26, is moved at high speedleftwardly in FIG. 1 in the direction of arrow 44, into a stacker hopper46 wherein such items are stacked one on top of the other for furtherhandling and processing.

The burster mechanism 12, due to its unusual and novel structuralconfiguration enables the apparatus either to burst the continuous formsalong the perforations therebetween or to provide a clean cut edgeadjacent the line of perforations, if desired.

The following detailed description will first address itself to thebursting technique and the associated hardware and thereafter thedescription will address itself to the die-cutting operation detailingthe slight modification employed.

As seen in the assembly view of FIG. 1 and in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3,there is provided upper and a lower hold foot rail members 48 and 50,respectively. Upper hold foot rail member 48 is an elongated,transversely disposed, rigid member extending at right angles to thepath of movement of the incoming document-item. Attached to the lowerexposed surface portion of member 48 is a relatively soft resilientmember 52 such as rubber, Neoprene or similar material. Member 52 may besecured to hold foot member 48 as by gluing, channelling, etc. Both theattachment face as well as the exposed surface of material 52 issubstantially flat throughout its transverse extent.

Lower hold foot member 50 is configured to provide a hollow centralchamber 54 of rectangular cross section extending through its length. Anelongated relatively narrow channel 56 extends parallel to the longdimension of'member 50. A bar like plunger member 58 is received inchannel 56 and is biased vertically upwardly by means of springs 60disposed within the chamber opening 54. The upper surface of member 50carries oppositely disposed relatively hard, resilient members 62arranged in parallel on the upper surface of member 50 so as to straddlechannel 56 and the vertical portion of plunger bar 58. The height of thebar is calculated so as to permit the upper transverse edge thereofto'extend upwardly between the resilient members 62 such that in therest position of FIG. I biased by springs 60 the surface of the barmember 58 is contiguous with and forms a common surface with the members62.

The lower foot rail member 50 is additionally configured to provide apair of oppositely disposed, parallel, substantially identical rigidmembers 64a and 64b extending transversely across the width of theburster assembly. The two members 64a and 64b each carry a pair ofsubstantially identical depending follower members 66 located atopposite ends thereof and cooperable with follower rollers or wheels 68rotatably secured to each member 66 enabling the lower hold foot memberto be vertically, slidably movable upon rotation of drive cams 70, ashereinafter described.

Disposed below the foot rail assembly is drive motor 72 the output shaft74 of which is coupled to gear train 76. Drive shaft 78 from gear train76 rotates drive cams 70. It will be immediately apparent thatenergization of motor 72 from a source of electrical energy will causethe lower foot rail member 50 to move vertically upwardly and downwardlyin precise timed relationship.

Assuming the burster apparatus is placed in the operational mode thecontinuous forms 26 will be fed by tractors 14 from the supply bin intothe bursting area in cyclical stop-start fashion.

The line of weakening or perforations between adjacent continuous formitems is automatically disposed centrally beneath the two opposed holdfoot members 48 and 50. As the lower hold foot member moves upwardly inits precise cammed cycle, as seen most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3 of thedrawings, the item is first gripped between the resilient confrontingfaces or surfaces of the hold feet (FIG. 2). Thereafter as the cyclecontinues the upper more resilient member is compressed by the lowerless resilient hold foot member FIG. 3.

As the gap between the anvils, i.e., the upper and lower hold footmembers is closed, the adjacent items at the line of perforations aresecurely clamped therebetween. As the compressive forces becomeincreasingly higher the upper resilient member presses the item or itemswith it, deflecting the items downwardly into the cavity between the twoparallel resilient members of the lower hold foot 50 against the upwardbias of the plunger member 58. At the point of maximum stressconcentration the elastic limit of the line of perforation is reachedthen exceeded and the two adjacent items are burst apart.

The plunger 58 in its rest or inoperative position or condition providesa smooth continuous surface in the bursting area so that the continuousitems have no tendency to become hung-up" or caught in their passagefrom the supply bin into the bursting area between the two hold footmembers.

It is noted in the drawings that FIGS. 2 and 3 are slightly exaggeratedrelative to scale. The upper resilient member 52 should deflectapproximately 0.020 inch into the cavity to break the perforation andburst the items apart.

As described and claimed in the copending application U.S. Ser. No.210,737 now US. Pat. No. 3,794,228 previously referred to herein, thelower hold foot member can be elevated progressively lengthwise bymoving this burst member at an angle to the upper foot rail member. Or,the resilient members may be tapered or wedge shaped throughout theirlength depending upon the ultimate desired structural configuration andthe type and speed of operation to be employed.

The present invention permits of minor modification enabling the basicapparatus to function as a die cutting device as will now be describedin connection with FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings.

It is often desirable or even necessary and required that the perforateddiscontinuous edge remaining after the bursting operation be maderegular, even and continuous such for example as where a data processorprinter is utilized to produce hard copy correspondence in letter forms.Here the perfed" edge would destroy the aesthetically desirable uniformcopy edge normally seen with typewriter bond paper.

As seen first in FIG. 4, the upper hold foot member is shaped to providean elongated cutting member or blade 82 either integral with or as partof the rigid member 80. Oppositely disposed; parallel, resilient members84 straddle the blade 82 and provide a substantially straight, flatuniform transverse surface adjacent to the blade. The depending extentof the members 84, which are secured to the hold foot member 80 insuitable fashion as by gluing for example. are such that the blade 82 isrecessed slightly below the exposed surface of the members 84 when inthe rest or inoperative condition.

The lower hold foot member or anvil 86 comprises a substantiallyU-shaped, elongated. transverse rigid structure, e.g. metal, disposed asis the upper hold foot member, at right angles to the pathway of thecontinuous item forms. The channel 88 formed by the vertical arms of theU is first rectangular in cross section and then wedged shaped asindicated by reference character 90 with the wider portion of the wedgeat the bottom interior of the channel as seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 forpurposes to be described shortly. The upper portion of channel 88 islinear with parallel walls as at 92 to matingly engage the die-cuttingmember 82 as hereinafter described.

The lower depending portion of the lower hold foot assembly 86 isprovided with oppositely arranged follower members 94 carrying followerrollers 96 rotatably secured thereto. Cams 98 secured to shaft 78rotatably contact rollers 96. The follower roller assembly is biaseddownwardly by means of spring I00 so as to cause the follower rollers tocontinually engage and track the cams 98.

In operation of this embodiment of the invention the perforatedcontinuous item forms 26 are fed by the tractor mechanism 14 into thecutting area 102 so that the perf line is midway between the side edgesof the channel opening 88 as seen in FIG. 4. Continuing the cycle ofoperation of the apparatus causes the lower hold foot member 86 to movevertically upwardly to the position of FIG. 5. The upper exposesdsurface 104 of member 86 engages the lower surface of the item 26compressing it upwardly against the lower exposed surface 106 ofresilient members 84 compressing the latter as indicated by the slightbulge at 108 FIG. 5 and causing the knife blade die 82 to projectdownwardly forcing the blade to cut the paper and push the cut piece 110into the cavity or channel opening 88 therebelow as in FIG. 5.

The burst cut item 26 is thereafter fed at high speed by rollers 38 and40 to take-up bin. A fresh item is next fed into the die-cutting area.

A simplified but extremely efficient structural arrangement is thatillustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawing. This modified constructioncan be substituted for that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive. The upperhold foot member 112 is provided in its modified form with oppositelydisposed deformable, resilient members 114-114 secured to the lowerplanar surface of member 112 and adapted to straddle an elongatedpenetrator member 116 extending transversely of the burster. The lowerdepending end portion of member 116. is smoothly rounded as at 118, forpurposes to be explained presently. The lower hold foot member 120carries on its upper, exposed. flat surface portion oppositely disposed,parallel, resilient members 122 offering relatively more resistance todeformation than the members 114. Members 122 are arranged to form anelongated, transverse groove or channel 124 for the reception therein ofpenetrator member 118, as will now be described.

Assuming the bursting apparatus to be in operation and cycling asearlier described herein, the continuous item forms 26' will bepositioned first as shown in FIG. 7 with the line of weakening orperforations 126, disposed between the upper and lower hold feet andcentrally of the transverse channel 124. Continued cycling of theapparatus causes the two hold feet to come together (the lower hold foot120 rises vertically upwardly into engagement with the upper hold foot)compressing the upper less resilient members 114-114 and causing them tobulge laterally, slightly, as shown in FIG. 8. This deformation ofmembers 114 permits the penetrator 118 to extend from between members114, to force the forms at the line of weakening (i.e. perforations)into the channel 124. The force resulting from this compression exceedsthe elastic limit of the perforations effectively bursting the leadingitem from the trailing item form 26. The cycle is completed with thelower hold foot member 120 retracting downwardly as earlier describedherein, ready for the next item bursting cycle.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principlesinvolved. it is to be understood that the invention may be otherwiseembodied without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as definedin the appended claims.

. What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for separating continuous multiple item forms into separateand individual items comprising;

oppositely disposed, relatively rigid members,

one of said rigid members being movable with respect to the other ofsaid rigid members,

means of differing relative resilience disposed on each of said rigidmembers, the upper resilient means being solid, flat faced, flexiblematerial, the

lower resilient means being formed as two separate, flat faced memberswith a cavity therebetween, the resilient means of one member beingreceivable within the cavity formed by the resilient means of the otherof said rigid members,

means for advancing continuous item forms between said rigid members,and

means operably associated with said advancing means and said rigidmembers whereby relative movement between said rigid members causes saidresilient means to grip said items and force the resilient means of oneof said rigid members into the cavity of the otherof said resilientmeans so that the items therebetween are burst apart along a line ofpreweakening between items.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein one of said rigidmembers includes reciprocable means within said cavity cooperating withsaid resilient means to form a continuous item form receiving surface.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein said reciprocablemeans includes spring biased transverse means disposed within areceptacle in said rigid member.

4. The invention in accordance with claim I wherein said lower resilientmember has a higher Shore Durometer value than the upper resilientmember.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said resilientmembers are elastomers providing a relatively high coefficient offriction for said continuous item forms.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the upper rigidmember includes a penetrator means receivable within the cavity formedin the resilient means of said lower rigid member.

7. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the lower of saidtwo rigid members is angled progressively lengthwise for engagement withsaid upper one of said two members.

8. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein one of saidresilient members is wedge shaped from end to end.

1. Apparatus for separating continuous multiple item forms into separateand individual items comprising; oppositely disposed, relatively rigidmembers, one of said rigid members being movable with respect to theother of said rigid members, means of differing relative resiliencedisposed on each of said rigid members, the upper resilient means beingsolid, flat faced, flexible material, the lower resilient means beingformed as two separate, flat faced members with a cavity therebetween,the resilient means of one member being receivable within the cavityformed by the resilient means of the other of said rigid members, meansfor advancing continuous item forms between said rigid members, andmeans operably associated with said advancing means and said rigidmembers whereby relative movement between said rigid members causes saidresilient means to grip said items and force the resilient means of oneof said rigid members into the cavity of the other of said resilientmeans so that the items therebetween are burst apart along a line ofpreweakening between items.
 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1wherein one of said rigid members includes reciprocable means withinsaid cavity cooperating with said resilient means to form a continuousitem form receiving surface.
 3. The invention in accordance with claim 2wherein said reciprocable means includes spring biased transverse meansdisposed within a receptacle in said rigid member.
 4. The invention inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said lower resilient member has a higherShore Durometer value than the upper resilient member.
 5. The inventionin accordance with claim 1 wherein said resilient members are elastomersproviding a relatively high coefficient of friction for said continuousitem forms.
 6. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein theupper rigid member includes a penetrator means receivable within thecavity formed in the resilient means of said lower rigid member.
 7. Theinvention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the lower of said two rigidmembers is angled progressively lengthwise for engagement with saidupper one of said two members.
 8. The invention in accordance with claim1 wherein one of said resilient members is wedge shaped from end to end.